Worse Than Widowed
by RiddikuluslyBeautiful
Summary: What could be worse than being widowed? How about erasing your husband's memories and watching as he lives out his life with the woman who has held his heart long before you were even born? A woman thought to be dead? Lily Potter joins the Wizarding World once again and comes to claim one Severus Snape. Hermione loves him enough to let him go. Will he find his way back? HG/SS AU!
1. Chapter 1

"What is it you asked me here for, Headmaster? As you know I am quite busy." Severus drawled, leaning back lazily in his chair, his eyes flitting from one former Head's portrait to another. It was clear from their expressions whatever the Headmaster had to say, it would be fairly interesting.

"Now, my dear boy, I fear I have done you a great disservice by keeping what I am about to reveal to you secret for so long. I wish for you to understand, however, that I was doing what I believed was both best and necessary to give Harry the best chance to defeat Tom. It was for the greater good." Worry lines contorted the Headmaster's face into the wary, weary, and exhausted expression that it currently was, worry lines that the Potions Master had not seen since before the war ended almost three years ago. A chill threatened to creep over the man as he realized that the damnable twinkle was missing from the piercing blue eyes.

Lips twisted into his characteristic sneer, he snarled back at the old man, "The greater good? Of course, Headmaster. It is a shame that I never seem to be part of it." His anger masked the pain he felt at learning that there was yet another secret the old wizard was keeping from him despite all he had gone through to rectify his past mistakes. Would he never atone enough for his sins? Would his loyalties always be questioned?

Watching the Headmaster, his sneer deepened when he saw the man's hesitation to continue with what had no doubt been a well-rehearsed and thought out explanation. "Get on with it." He snapped, tired of wasting the precious little free time he had until the imbeciles and dunderheads were back from the summer holidays to blow up his classroom in the name of "learning". There were better things he could be doing, like brewing, instead of having to wait for Albus's dramatic revelation.

After what seemed like an eternity, Albus Dumbledore took a deep breath and uttered the words he knew would change the life of his employee forever.

"Almost 19 years ago, Lily Potter gave her life for her son, as you well know. What you do not know, what almost no one knew, was that moments before Lily attempted to sacrifice herself for her son, Lily's mother sacrificed herself for her daughter and grandson. Rose Evans was visiting her daughter, son-in-law, and grandson that night. When Voldemort forced his way into the bedroom, she stepped in front of her daughter and grandson and sacrificed herself. As you know, Harry attempted to sacrifice himself in the final battle and destroyed the last horcrux at the same time. Because of his attempt we were protected and because of his mother's attempt so was he…what you do not know is that because of her mother's sacrifice, Lily too was protected." Here, Dumbledore paused, as if to give his words a moment to sink in before he shattered, using only four words, the life Severus Snape had built for himself.

"Severus, Lily Potter lives."

"Impossible!" Snape snarled, immediately on his feet. He threw the chair he had just vacated into a set of glass shelves, hardly taking notice when the trinkets that had been resting on them clattered to the floor loudly, and paced the room before finally spinning on his heel to face the Headmaster. Rage, grief, and pain flickered across his face as he fought for control of his emotions before finally succeeding. A cold, blank stare too the place of the anguish that had previously been there. "Nineteen years later. Nineteen years too late. It does not matter anymore. I have obligations now." Slowly, his long fingers twisted the golden band wrapped around his ring finger.

"You stood by at my wedding, Albus! You stood by while I married her and _knew_ that _she_ was out there."

"Sev."

Dumbledore was all but forgotten at the sound of that voice. He had not heard that voice in so long and the last time he had it had been filled with hatred and resentment, with pain and bitterness. It had been filled with the emotions he let eat away at him for almost two decades. Very slowly, as if afraid any sudden movement would scare the owner of the voice away, Severus turned. His eyes drank in the sight of the redheaded woman leaning casually against the doorway leading to the spiral staircase. She was both his Lily and not. Age had added lines to her face but the eyes, the eyes he saw in Potter's face for years. It was truly his Lily, older, but still his Lily. Silently, black eyes locked with green as the owner of the latter made her way across the room to the owner of the former.

"I've missed you." She smiled up at him, her hand reaching to grasp his. His other hand rose of its own accord and cupped her cheek. Lily leaned toward him, for a moment he leaned toward her and then pulled back, turning his head from her.

"My wife." He said simply, refusing to meet the woman's eyes.

"Is here." Another figure emerged from the doorway, another figure he had been too occupied with Lily to notice, and his heart dropped as he realized that it was the figure of his wife. Hermione stepped closer to him, rage filling her expression as she glared at Lily and her best friend's mother stepped away as if burned. Hermione's gaze turned to Severus and it softened slightly but maintained a hard edge.

Dumbledore cleared his throat pointedly and Hermione looked to him and nodded. A sigh escaped her and her shoulders slumped as though the weight of the world had fallen upon them in the span of a few moments.

"You love her." Hermione whispered softly, peering into her husband's she was searching for her husband didn't know but it seemed she found it because she bit back a sob and took her his hand in her own. It took Severus a minute to realize what she was doing and he was shocked when he understood. After a moment she broadened the space between them taking a step back, a gold wedding band clutched in her fist.

He was going to respond but found he had nothing to say. His wife's words had not been a question. They were a statement. She already knew.

"Always." Lily said softly, smiling at Severus.

"What are you doing?" Severus choked out at last, ignoring Lily for the moment, surprised to see that Hermione's tears were already slowing.

"Freeing you from your obligation." Defeat and exhaustion laced both her voice and her features and Severus found it disturbing. Where was the fierce young woman who had stood at Harry Potter's side as he vanquished the Dark Lord once and for all?

Before he could open his mouth to speak he saw her wand hovering in front of him. He cringed internally, imagining the bat bogey hex that was sure to come his way considering his wife's temper.

Swallowing hard and choking back her tears, Hermione pointed her wand at her husband's face, drinking in his face one last time, her mouth slowly forming the words of her spell.

" _Obliviate_."

For a moment, betrayal flickered across Severus's face as he realized what she had done but it lasted only a moment until the spell began to take effect.

Hermione stepped away quickly and watched as Dumbledore motioned Lily forward. Her face would be the first that he would see, it would be as the scene had been before she entered. His life would be the same before she entered it again after the war as well. As far as Severus Snape would be aware, he had never formed a friendship with the altogether insufferable Hermione Granger, let alone been married to her.

In one wand movement, one word, Hermione Granger had, for all intents and purposes, dissolved her marriage of two years. She was worse than widowed.

Severus's hand moved toward Lily's face, oblivious to Hermione and Albus once more. Lily leaned forward and Hermione turned away, running from the Headmaster's office. She couldn't bear to watch as her husband kissed the other woman. This was the woman who had held his heart his whole life, even during their short marriage. This was the woman whose ghost had clung to her very soul from the very moment Severus Snape stole her heart for she knew his belonged to this ghost. Her tears began flowing for the second time that night, blinding her even as she ran. She didn't care where she went, as long as it was far from the newly minted and clearly happy couple.

She bumped into Minerva on the spiral staircase, the woman having been present for moral support for the younger witch. Minerva soothed her quietly and guided her down the staircase and through the halls toward her quarters. She had no intention of leaving Hermione on her own during such turmoil. Calmly, she settled the girl, for that was what the forlorn crying witch looked like to her, on the sofa and poured her a glass of tea, waiting for Hermione to calm enough to accept it.

"How long?" Minerva asked, her gaze intently peering into her former charge's face.

"How long what?"

"How long have you known you were pregnant?"

A/N: This has been bouncing around for a while! Let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

"About a week actually." The young woman explained, cradling her teacup to her chest. "I suppose your next question is why I didn't tell him." A sigh escaped her lips and she closed her eyes, fighting the emotional and mental exhaustion threatening to overtake her.

"I was going to tonight. I needed to work up my nerve to do it. I was…I was afraid to. I wasn't sure how he would react. He has expressed to me more times than I can count that the idea of fatherhood…is not…appealing to him. He always stressed being careful." Hermione sighed, feeling more tired than she had the night after the final battle. Taking a sip, she tried to steel herself for the interrogation she knew was to come.

"This was not planned then?"

"No."

"Then how—surely you're not suggesting Severus made a mistake when brewing?"

"It was my fault. I wasn't feeling well one day. He was in the crucial stage of brewing the experimental potion he has been researching for months. I knew he couldn't be bothered to brew a potion for something as trivial as a common illness. I went to Madame Pomfrey instead but I was feeling so ill I didn't think to ask if it would be okay to take with the contraceptive potion I was on. I found out later that it would nullify the contraceptive potion's effectiveness." She squirmed slightly refusing to meet her mentor's eyes. She had been so stupid, had assumed that it was safe. The know-it-all had failed to do her research for the first time ever and it proved to be the worst time to make such an error.

"How much later?"

"Six weeks."

"Then you are seven weeks along?"

"Yes." She bit her lip, chewing it nervously as she waited for the next question.

"What are you going to do, Hermione?" Minerva clucked her tongue softly, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment before settling her gaze once more on her former pupil.

Hermione drained her cup of tea and placed it on the table in front of her, instantly missing it's warmth. After wringing her hands for a few moments as she fretted over what to say, she lifted her gaze to meet the older woman's.

"I don't know." There, it was out, the great Hermione Granger, the brightest witch of her age, one third of the golden trio, defeater of death eaters, and assistant vanquisher of Voldemort, had no idea what she was going to do. She was pregnant and alone.

"You are not alone." The older witch disturbed the younger's thoughts and Hermione realized she must have spoken aloud. "Pregnant, yes, but alone, no." Hermione and Minerva had grown closer since the war's end with all the time Hermione had spent at the castle with Severus. The older woman had come to seen the younger in a familial way, feeling sure that if she had ever decided to have children then her daughter would be sitting in front of her right then.

Suddenly, all the thoughts and problems that had been troubling Hermione burst forth from her trembling lips.

"What am I going to do, Professor? I don't have anywhere to go—I mean, I'm sure I could go to Gin and Harry's but what about after the baby is born? I can't stay there forever and expect them to put up with a squalling baby. Ron is staying at the Burrow and I know Mrs. Weasley would let me stay there, would be delighted to have me and a baby, even after it was born, but I can't just impose and not give her anything in return. Which brings me to the fact that I don't even have a job! I've been doing independent research for the past two years! No one is going to hire a pregnant witch whose husband didn't even want her." The tears started again and she was not surprised when Minerva pulled her closer, rubbing her back in gentle soothing circles.

For a moment only sobs and soothing murmurs punctuated the silence in the rooms of the Deputy Headmistress. The spell was broken, however, when a third voice chimed in.

"Severus did not say he didn't want you." The Headmaster's voice startled the pair and they both jumped. "You did not give him a choice."

"Only because you didn't give me one!" Hermione bit off, drying her eyes once again.

"She better not mean what I think she means for your sake, Albus!" Minerva snarled, doing her best impression of Severus. When that seemed to fail to make an impression upon her employer, she resorted to thinning her lips to the point where Hermione could no longer be certain she possessed them.

"I'm afraid she does. Please sit, Minerva, I would invite you back to my office but it seems it is a bit…occupied at the moment." Dumbledore still looked just as old as he had when he had first called Severus into his office. In fact, he looked as though he had aged even more in the time since Hermione had last seen him.

"You-"Minerva spluttered, clearly quite furious despite his attempts to calm her, "Explain yourself!" Hermione winced slightly, it was the same tone she was used to hearing when she, Harry, and Ron were in a load of trouble for their own adventures.

"Three days ago Lily Potter decided it was time for her to come out of hiding. She felt that with the capture of the most recent Death Eaters, it was finally safe for the world to know the whole story, the true story. I think the best way to explain all that has happened in the last three days would be for you to _see_ it." A pause and then, "Winky." A mere moment after her name had left the Headmaster's lips, the house elf appeared with a crack, placing a tray of lemon biscuits upon the table and curtseying in her tea towel. She found bringing the Headmaster his biscuits when called upon would save her unnecessary time.

"Whats can Winky be doing for you, Headmaster?" She squeaked out.

"Please bring my pensieve to me. You know where it is." The house elf barely waited for the words to reach her ears before she disappeared with another crack.

Minerva narrowed her eyes at her long-time friend, lips still impossibly thin. He would not escape her infamous temper easily.

"Would you like a lemon biscuit, my dear? They're quite delicious." Albus offered to Hermione not unkindly, ignoring his angry deputy for a moment.

Before Hermione had a chance to accept or decline the man's offer, Winky had reappeared, the heavy stone bowl hovering in the air beside her and a look of utter distress on her face.

"One moment." Dumbledore told the house elf before, with the flick of his wrist, he transfigured one of his precious biscuits into a pedestal-like table. "Ah, there we are." He gestured for Winky to place the magical object on the newly transfigured object and then turned his full attention back to her.

"What is wrong, my dear?" The wizard questioned.

"No respects, Headmaster! Theys be _doing it_ in fronts of alls the portraits and—ands on your desk." Winky wailed, leaping toward the coffee table. "Winky tries to stops them but theys wouldn't listen. Theys makes messes of Headmaster Dumbley-dores stuffs! Winky is bad elf!" Each sentence was punctuated with Winky banging her head upon Minerva's coffee table.

Hermione closed her eyes, a green tinge coming to her face at the thought of her husband so swiftly moving on without her. After a moment, the steady stream of images that had been triggered by the house elf proved too much and Hermione staggered down the hallway into Minerva's bathroom, leaving the house elf, wizard, and witch to hear the sounds of her retching into the toilet bowl.

Several minutes later, Hermione reappeared, looking slightly less queasy though she swayed slightly. Minerva immediately offered the young woman her arm, glaring at her longtime friend for not having the grace to insist Severus and Lily vacate his office before leaving them unattended. The portraits would no doubt spread it around the castle soon enough and the whole wizarding world would know that Hermione's husband was with another woman, even if the man himself would not know he was eviscerating the vows he had made.

The Headmaster looked profoundly uncomfortable and looked toward the house elf who had ceased her self-inflicted punishment. "It's not your fault, Winky Please return to the kitchens and make yourself a cup of tea. No butterbeer." The last statement was added as an afterthought upon Dumbledore's remembrance of the elf's drinking problem.

Once the house elf had disappeared, Dumbledore turned to Minerva and Hermione to make a request of the Scottish woman,

"Do attempt to refrain from hexing me until after you have seen all the memories, Minerva. I would rather not have to go through it more than once."

Hermione looked hesitantly from one Professor to the next. She wasn't sure she wanted to be involved in or even witness to a duel between the two but she knew if Professor McGonagall was dead set on hexing the Headmaster she would feel obligated to step in, given that this situation was partly her own fault as well.

"Here we are." The Headmaster said after a few moments of silence, drawing out several silvery threads from his temple in quick succession. "First, I shall show you my meeting with Lily Potter, followed by a meeting with Severus, and another with Harry. We will move on to my meeting with Mrs—Miss Granger, and to what I showed her there." He motioned them over and both Hermione and Minerva stepped closer to the pensieve. The older witch grasped the young woman's hand tightly and with a shared look, the pair leaned over the bowl until they felt themselves being lifted off their feet.

When they landed, they found they were in the Headmaster's office but the aforementioned man was alone. Hermione looked to Albus quizzically.

"Patience, my dear." Sure enough, the flames in the fireplace began to turn green and Lily Evans stepped from it.

" _Albus!" Lily greeted, her green eyes twinkling as madly as the Headmaster's usually did. "I heard the Aurors caught the last of them! The last of the known Death Eaters are in Azkaban!" Her laughter was light and full of happiness, a smile plastered across her face._

 _With a pang, Hermione noted that she looked even lovelier when she was smiling and happy._

" _They are." Albus acknowledged, nodding sagely. "Are you ready?"_

" _I'm more than ready to reclaim my life! I miss magic! I miss my son! I miss the Wizarding World! I miss—I miss—I miss Severus! He was my best friend and I loved him, not as much as I loved James, but I did love him. James is gone. Severus is not. It is time I moved on and showed him his love is not as unrequited or hopeless as he once thought!" Lily was twirling around the room. She felt like a little girl again. She was finally free! Free of the prophecy, free of her Muggle life, free of Voldemort, and free to be herself once again._

" _I'm afraid you are too late for the last one, Lily." The old man said gently, trying not to cringe when her laughter stopped abruptly and her eyes narrowed at him._

" _What do you mean, Albus?" The look on her face was scarily reminiscent of the one Severus often paired with that exact phrase and Albus let out a long sigh._

" _He is married."_

" _To whom?"_

" _Hermione Granger."_

" _My son's friend? She is old enough to be his daughter! He spied for decades for me, for my memory. He was willing to sacrifice himself for my son, my mere memory, because of his love for me. He would choose me. I will not have it, Albus. Severus has been mine since long before she was ever born!" Jealousy made Lily Potter's eyes turn a whole new shade of green._

" _It is ill-advised."Albus tried to make the woman see sense. "Does he not deserve happiness? After all this time?"_

" _From what I understand, the reason he could not have happiness was because I was not here. I am now. Does he not deserve to find TRUE happiness? Albus, you owe me a life-debt. I demand you fulfill it by removing Hermione Granger as an obstacle in the way of my attempts to develop a romantic relationship with Severus Snape." Here, Lily paused, a determined look in her eyes as she drew her wand and pointed it at the Headmaster. Calmly she continued speaking, " I, Lily Potter, nee Evans, invoke the life-debt owed to me by Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, forged at the moment in which I saved him from death at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange, and charge Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore with removing Hermione Jean Snape, nee Granger, as an obstacle in the way of my attempts to develop a romantic relationship with Severus Snape." Black threads seem to snake their way from Lily's wrist, and drawn wand, to the Headmaster's, even across the distance that stretched between them in his office. The minute the cords wrapped themselves around the Headmaster's wrist, they glowed white for a second before vanishing._

" _Very Well."_

The memory ended and the scene faded away, leaving them suspended in a blank space for a moment while the next memory began to take shape around them.

Minerva turned to eye Albus, her expression dumbfounded. "You owed Lily Potter a life debt? I understand now how that manipulative—manipulative—whore of Voldemort got you agree to it but how did you get Hermione to?" After a moment of silence where both Hermione and Albus were attempting to shut their jaws at hearing Minerva's colorful and inventive language, Hermione opened her mouth and spoke

"I owed him one."

A/N: If you guys haven't figured it out by now, this story is AU. I forgot to put that in the description but I will probably correct that today. Anyway, I hope this answers some of the questions as to why Albus/Hermione would agree to this. More memories to come in the next chapter!

 _-RB_


	3. Chapter 3

Whatever response Minerva was going to give was cut off by the beginning of the next memory. They were once again in the Headmaster's office and Albus stood in front of his desk, Severus standing in front of him.

" _Severus, I must ask you something."_

 _The man in question seemed bored with the conversation already and merely raised his eyebrow in answer to his employer's statement. An indifferent expression replaced his typical sneer._

" _Do you still love Lily Evans?"_

 _The Potions Master seemed taken aback, drawing himself up to his full height, lip curling back in a snarl as he answered his employer. "Bugger off." The man spun toward the door and began to leave, pausing to twirl his ring around his finger, his hand on the door. "Always."_

 _A swirl of black cloak disappearing down the staircase was the only indication that Albus Dumbledore had indeed spoken to his Potions Professor._

The memory began to swirl, the setting changing only slightly to reveal Albus in a similar position to before, the difference being that Harry was the one standing before him now.

" _Harry, my dear boy, there is something I need to tell you." Albus's eyes were missing their twinkle and he looked as old as Harry had ever seen him._

" _Professor?" Harry questioned, his eyes staring into Albus's the same way his mother's had only hours before._

" _The night Tom Riddle was defeated by you, another person survived the killing curse. Your mother. Lily. Your grandmother Rose Evans gave her life for both you and your mother."_

 _Harry sat silently, taking in the news. His face suddenly morphed into an expression of complete rage and his mentor's benign expression faded briefly. "She knew!" Harry yelled, standing up so swiftly his chair fell to the floor with a thud._

" _Knew what, Harry?" Dumbledore prodded gently._

" _She knew how the Dursleys would treat me! She knew Sirius wasn't guilty!" Harry was pacing angrily now, his face screwed up as he considered all the ways in which the great Lily Potter had betrayed him._

 _The moment was interrupted when the door opened, attracting Harry's attention. Into the room stepped the owner of a set of eyes identical to his own and Harry knew he was seeing his mother for the first time since he was a baby._

" _Harry." She said softly and the young man's face crumpled. Her arms opened and Harry could no longer resist moving toward the only family he had left to him._

" _Shhh…my sweet baby boy. Just give it a few days and we will be a family again. Your father may not be here but you will have Severus after all." The minute the words left her mouth, Harry jumped from the woman's arms, angry with his moment of weakness and angry with her words._

" _Snape is married." Harry said, narrowing his eyes. "To 'Mione, my best friend."_

" _Not for long." Lily tried to soothe him further but the young man gave a nod to Dumbledore and stormed out, throwing a final few words over his shoulder. "I will always have 'Mione's back."_

The scene ended and Hermione found herself in tears once again, this time tears of admiration and happiness that her best friend would stand by her even when faced with getting a taste of a family, something he had been craving for years.

"Why show us this?" Minerva questioned after it became apparent that Hermione would not be finding her voice anytime soon.

"To show Hermione that Harry will always be her ally. Her friends are her greatest strength in times of hardship."

Further discussion was prevented when the last memory began to take shape around them. Unsurprisingly, the memory took place in Dumbledore's office, a room Hermione was quickly beginning to hate.

The young woman knew what would occur in this particular memory and chose to lose herself in her thoughts rather than relive the moment she was bound to change her life.

 _A knock sounded on Dumbledore's door and the man called out, "Enter." The door was opened to reveal a smiling Hermione._

" _Please, have a seat, my dear." The young woman was clearly so caught up in thought that she failed to recognize there was something off with the Headmaster's tone. Even the twinkle in his eyes was subdued. Hermione did as asked._

" _You asked to see me, Professor?" Hermione questioned, though she was fairly sure she knew what the conversation was about. He was the all-knowing Headmaster, she was fairly certain he knew of her pregnancy and was probably wondering why she hadn't told Severus yet._

" _Yes, Mrs. Snape, I did. I wanted to talk to you about—"_

" _The pregnancy. I'm going to tell Severus tonight. I've just been a little nervous about his reaction to it." The young woman cut him off, explaining herself before he could make assumptions._

" _The—the pregnancy?" For once in his headmastership, the old wizard was caught off guard. His thoughts had been troubled with the orders of the life debt to the point where he had failed to be as observant as he typically was. This pregnancy complicated matters. Severus surely could not be separated from his child once he—but he didn't...that was the loophole…"You say Severus does not yet know?" At Hermione's nod, the old wizard squeezed his eyes shut briefly before responding, "Then you must never tell him." He held up his hand to stop the protests from the young witch who had opened her mouth, a look of outraged confusion on her face. He brought her to his pensieve where he had her watch the nigh Severus came to him, begging him to save Lily from Voldemort. Hermione flinched but showed no other emotion until the scene had ended and they were back in the office once more._

" _Why? Why show me that memory?" She questioned him._

 _It was time to drive the knife home, "Severus loves another."_

" _I know." The two words were wrenched from the throat of the brunette, clearly painful for her to speak._

 _Her knowledge surprised him. Why marry a man when you know he pines for another? Interested, he gestured for her to continue._

" _I have always known that it was Lily Potter who held his heart. I love him. I thought one day he would realize she is dead and never coming back. I thought one day he would grow fond of me, if not love then tender affection."_

" _Ah, but Mrs. Snape, Lily Potter is not dead. She is among us and she is claiming Severus."_

 _Hermione clutched the arms of her chair tightly, her knuckles turning white._

" _Impossible."_

" _Not so, my dear. I will spare you the details but Lily Potter lives. In fact, she is here now."_

 _As if summoned by his words, the redheaded witch that haunted her husband's dreams exited the Headmaster's private rooms and entered the office. Immediately, Hermione's eyes travelled over her opposition and knew instantly that whatever game she had been playing at, she had lost for Lily Potter seemed to only get better with age. Feeling claustrophobic, the witch stood swiftly and made her way to the Headmaster's window, looking out over the grounds._

 _It was late August, the sunlight touched every corner of Hogwarts, giving it a pleasant, ethereal glow. The sunshine seemed out of place. It was funny how the world seemed to continue on even as her life fell to pieces around her._

" _I suppose you intend me to just give him to you?" Hermione drew herself up to full height, determined not to give in so easily. She would give up her husband to Lily only over her dead body._

 _Lily nodded to Albus and the old man sighed heavily, drawing his wand._

" _I, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, invoke the life debt owed to me by Hermione Jean Snape, nee Granger, forged at the moment in which I saved her from death at the hands of Amycus Carrow, and charge her with the task of removing herself from the life of Severus Snape in an attempt to give Lily Potter, nee Evans, the chance to puruse a romantic relationship with Severus Snape."_

 _It didn't seem that she would give up her husband to Lily only over her dead body, her almost dead body seemed to have to the same effect. It was with obvious shock that she spun around to face the black cords that snaked around her wrist, glowing white to seal the arrangement, before they disappeared altogether, much like any chance she had at a future with Severus._

 _Her disbelief turned to rage and she lunged toward Lily Potter, forgoing her wand altogether and raising her hand high. Swiftly, she brought her palm down until it connected with such force to Lily Potter's cheek that the woman was knocked backward and flat on her arse._

" _I hope you rot in hell." She spat, fury clouding her vision as she turned to the Headmaster, "And you can join her." With that final statement, she stormed from the room, determined not to let them see her cry._

The final memory ended and the trio was returned to Minerva's quarters, a look of utter disbelief on the aforementioned woman's face. "Oh, Hermione." Minerva cried, seizing the young woman in a fierce embrace. The Headmaster looked away from the private moment, ignoring the fact that the two women shared tears before wiping their faces and turning to him once more.

"I am so sorry, Mrs—Hermione." Albus told the young witch, regret lacing his features. "As you can see, I had as little choice as you did."

"What's done is done." Agony flashed across the brunette's face as the finality of the situation sunk in. It disappeared after a moment and then she continued on, "The next step is to figure out where I will be staying and where in Merlin's name I'm going to find employment. I already have all of my belongings and photos packed and Crookshanks is wandering the castle. He knows not to go back." She withdrew the beaded bag from an inner pocket within her robes and shook it for emphasis as if to emphasize that all that was left of her life lay within it's confines.

"I have a solution." Dumbledore spoke after a moment of though. "Though it will be full of—challenges." The carefully selected word sent warning bells of in Hermione's head but she chose to ignore it. There was little left to be lost. "As you are aware, we are in need of a new D.A.D.A. Professor. What you may not be aware of is that Professor Flitwick has volunteered to fill the role now that the curse has been broken and proven to be so by the consecutive return of Professor Stine until she resigned to travel the world. This would leave the Charms position open. I have not yet looked for a replacement but you have earned an outstanding in your Charms N.E.W.T. and have been actively been making groundbreaking discoveries and publishing research over the past year and a half."

Minerva seemed thoughtful before she nodded, agreeing with her companion. She wouldn't mind keeping Hermione close to her for as long as possible given the circumstances either.

Hermione, for her part, was uncertain, "What about Severus? Aren't the other members of staff going to question things? Won't he wonder?"

"I will call a meeting without Severus and explain the situation without too much detail and then I can call a second meeting and introduce you as the new Charms professor while your husband is "away". When you start to show we will "come clean" about how your husband ran off with another woman before you could tell him you were pregnant and decided to accept my job offer." Albus explained gently.

The young woman cringed internally at the story, knowing Severus would no doubt be unable to resist rubbing salt in the wounds of a woman he would only remember as the bane of his potions classroom a few years prior. Mustering her Gryffindor courage, she placed her hand protectively over her stomach and turned to give the Headmaster an answer.

"I accept."

A/N: I ask you to please re-read the previous two chapters (particularly the second one) as I have gone back and re-written them. The second chapter had an addition 600-1000 words added so there is much more content. Also, I am looking for a beta reader because I seem to miss my own typos far too often.

Yours,

R.B.


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